UTSC – request for continued registration and leave to file late appeal – not initially thought to be worthwhile to file appeal – lack of written notice of 90 day deadline played no part in failure to meet deadline – effective September 1, 2006, the right to appeal to Governing Council should be clearly communicated – University Policy on Academic Appeals within Divisions – section 3.2.1 the Terms of Reference – no reasonable explanation or demonstrated exceptionable circumstances for delay – request for permission to file appeal beyond the 90 day deadline refused – appeal dismissed
UTM – request to graduate with a cumulative GPA of less than 1.50 – grades for transfer credits not included in GPA calculations – University’s policy of refusing to transfer grades from other institutions is sound – policy at the time of transfer was known – annual GPA and cumulative GPA calculations never included grades from transfer credits – appeal dismissed – recommendation that borderline grades should attract attention and review from a Faculty’s administration – concern expressed about fairness to students who are experiencing serious academic difficulty
Faculty of Arts and Science – late withdrawal without academic penalty – litigation related to family and illness of family members – demands imposed by lawsuit known by drop date – date of Trial not sufficient excuse for default – increased stress from relatives' illness occurred after default – penalty imposed on assignment sufficiently clear and severe – consideration of general policy regarding and approach to late withdrawal without academic penalty in light of University admitting younger students – Committee found that policy should not be revised as a result of this case – minority opinion that policy should be amended and appeal allowed – appeal dismissed – recommendation that University review policy with respect to academic support for younger students
UTM – late withdrawal without academic penalty – mental health issues – stress from criminal charges – drop date after Student’s acquittal of criminal charges – no evidence of any change in mental health problems after drop date – appeal dismissed
Faculty of Pharmacy – request for readmission to the Faculty of Pharmacy – re-instatement in program – failure to obtain the required annual GPA – stress and anxiety did not incapacitate to the point of mental illness – no basis for Divisional Appeals Committee conclusions – appeal dismissed – recommendation to Division to consider additional procedures to ensure students in difficulty are aware of options available to assist them – recommendation that Division pay attention to information and resources provided to students pursuing an appeal – See Policy on Academic Appeals within Divisions
UTSC – request to re-write final examination – alternative request for aegrotat standing – Faculty appropriately applied its policies – special treatment of other students not substantiated – appeal dismissed
UTM – late withdrawal without academic penalty – sudden deterioration of heath – Student did not attend hearing – assertion of improvement and then deterioration of health not credible – Student attended exam in another course during same period – appeal dismissed
Graduate Department of Architecture, Landscape and Design – course grade appeal – instructor bias – no basis to question instructor’s overall assessment of the Student’s participation – no unfairness where same grading scheme was applied to all students, and not contrary to any information provided to students – no credible basis in the evidence presented for allegation of bias – appeal dismissed
Faculty of Medicine – re-instatement in program – dismissal from Family and Community Medicine Residency Training Program – policy that the Academic Appeals Committee cannot remark examinations or papers evaluated by examiners appointed by University also applies for clinical assessments – Academic Appeals Committee cannot interfere with the judgment of the Faculty on the grounds that the judgment was wrong if fairly arrived at – no evidence of bias or lack of objectivity – stress not considered a mitigating factor to poor academic performance when arising from awareness of adverse evaluations putting the student’s future at the University in jeopardy – family problems could not excuse performance difficulties noted – Breach of s.5.2.5 of the Guidelines for the Evaluation of Postgraduate Trainees of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto not sufficient ground to reinstate the Student in the program – Appeal dismissed – recommendation that the Faculty establish a formal mechanism for dealing with situations when the Board of Examiners is not scheduled to meet in the immediate future
UTSC – request to defer 12 month academic suspension, write two deferred examinations and re-write a final exam – monetary and personal destabilization – deliberations confined to the remedies that formed part of the decisions under appeal – little evidence provided to support claim that personal circumstances had become worse or did not resolve themselves at time of the petition – little evidence academically that the opportunity to write the finals would have lifted the 12 month suspension – minority opinion that appeal should be allowed based on evidence submitted by Student or alternatively that the Faculty should have given more weight to surrounding circumstances – appeal dismissed